Tudor: Sports couples in the limelight

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As far as the general public's fascination with celebrity weddings is concerned, the couples on this list hardly rise to the level of Kate Middleton and Prince William.

Nonetheless, the sports world has had its share of high-profile "I Dos" over the years.

Here's a very unofficial top 20 altar ranking:

-- 1. Actress Marilyn Monroe and New York Yankee Joe DiMaggio

-- 2. Tennis player Andre Agassi and actress Brooke Shields, and then tennis player Steffi Graf

-- 3. Soccer player Mia Hamm and former Boston Red Sox shortstop Nomar Garciaparra

-- 4. Figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi and former Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Bret Hedican

-- 5. Tennis player Chris Evert and skier Andy Mill, and then golfer Greg Norman

-- 6. Golfer Nancy Lopez and former Cincinnati Reds and New York Mets infielder Ray Knight

-- 7. Actress Eva Longoria and San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker

-- 8. Actress Vanessa Williams and former Los Angeles Lakers forward Rick Fox.

-- 9. Dancer-actress Janet Jones and NHL great Wayne Gretzky, after she originally was engaged to tennis player Vitas Gerulaitis.

-- 10. Spice Girl Posh (Victoria Adams) and English soccer player David Beckham

-- 11. Figure skater JoJo Starbuck and former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw

-- 12. Actress Robin Givens and boxer Mike Tyson

-- 13. Gymnasts Nadia Comaneci and Bart Conner

-- 14. Basketball player Ann Meyers and Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Don Drysdale

-- 15. Golfer Babe Didrikson and wrestler George Zaharias

-- 16. Actress Halle Berry and former Atlanta Braves outfielder David Justice

-- 17. Target shooters Annie Oakley and Frank Butler

-- 18. Tennis player Nancy Chaffee and former Pittsburgh Pirates player Ralph Kiner.

19. Horses Somethingroyal and Bold Ruler. Thanks to this pair, a little guy named Secretariat was born on March 30, 1970.

Honorable mention:

-- Actress Joanne Woodward and part-time race driver Paul Newman

-- Actress Elizabeth Taylor almost marrying Heisman Trophy winner Glenn Davis (Army's "Mr. Outside"). They were engaged, but Liz ran a surprise option play and went to businessman Conrad Hilton.

(Contact Caulton Tudor at caulton.tudor(at)newsobserver.com.)

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)

columnMust credit The News and Observer of Raleigh, N.C.